Roma defender Simon Kjaer has targeted the next four League games as key to the Giallorossi achieving their ambitions this season.

With Nicolas Burdisso out with a serious knee injury, fit again Danish defender Kjaer returned to the starting line-up at the weekend in Roma’s 2-1 win over Lecce. The 22-year-old told Il Corrieredello Sport of his delight in returning to action after missing more than four weeks of action through a combination of injury and suspension.

“Things are going great. We won and for me it was nice to return to the field after being out injured.

“It could have been a great victory on Sunday, we had the chances to win 5-1 or 6-1. [Lecce’s goal] was random, neither [Gabriel] Heinze or I could do anything about it.”

The former Palermo centre-back then drew attention to the fixture list that presents a run of challenging opponents for the Giallorossi.

Expressing their importance, Kjaer hinted that results in these games - three of which are away from home - will go a long way to defining the direction Roma’s season will take.

“We are now anticipating a streak of four matches against very strong teams like Udinese, Fiorentina, Juventus and Napoli.

“If we can get seven or nine points from these games, I think we’ll be in a good position in the table. A position that belongs to a big club like Roma.”

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